Drought conditions across California were steadily improving as we closed out 2016. This past week has further weakened the drought’s stranglehold on the state. A series of severe winter storms continue to saturate the state and, as of this week, more than 40% of the state is now considered by officials to be drought free. […]
Wildfire Season in 2016 was below average in terms of acreage with almost 62,000 fire ignitions totaling 5.3million acres (down from a record 10 million acres burned last year). But this year was especially destructive in terms of structure loss. The ten worst fires destroyed over 6,000 structures alone. Unfortunately, every year a significant amount of such damage is due to human-caused […]
Warmest Autumn on Record Fuels Abnormal Weather and Wildfires Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed that this Autumn was the warmest ever measured, surpassing the record-setting conditions from last year. The normally temperate months of September, October, and November were a staggering 4.1 degrees above average. November in particular was 6.3 degrees […]
Wildfires and Drought Extreme drought has turned much of the southeastern United States into a potential tinderbox. Wildfire activity in the Southeast is normally rather tame this late in the season, but current conditions have sparked dozens of new fires. Across Appalachia, 38 active wildfires have burned an estimated 37,734 acres. More than 5,000 firefighters from […]
Nearly half the population of the United States is exposed to a risk of a damaging earthquakes. The US Geological Survey recently released a report outlining the increased probability of a large earthquake impacting California, and there has been a dramatic increase in human-induced earthquakes across the central United States. This increased risk has further highlighted the […]
Hurricane Matthew Update: October 7, 2016. Hurricane Matthew continues to push north paralleling the east coast of Florida. The storm has yet to make landfall, but powerful wind gusts of over 100 mph have downed trees and caused power outages for nearly 1,000,000 people. Bands of heavy rain currently stretch as far north as South […]
Residents of California are all too familiar with the uneasy feeling of unstable ground under foot. California, however, is not alone. The Central United States has seen a dramatic increase in human-induced earthquakes activity in recent years. In 2015, the central United States experienced over a thousand earthquakes measuring 3.0 or larger on the Richter Scale. […]
While draught and high temperatures fuel large wildfires across much of the western United States this fire season, unprecedented rains in Louisiana have resulted in historic floods which some are calling the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy. The historic Louisiana floods began on August 10th with rains pummeling the Baton Rouge area. By August 12th, […]
RedZone is monitoring the Bluecut Fire, a fast moving brush fire burning in the Cajon Pass area north of San Bernardino. The fire originated along the 15 Freeway and grew with explosive intensity to over 30,000 acres in less than 24 hours. Firefighters have struggled to gain an upper hand on the fire as it spreads […]
Soberanes Fire Forces Evacuations The Soberanes Fire started burning the morning of July 22nd within the Garrapata State Park to the south of Monterey. As of August 3rd, it had grown to over 45,800 acres forcing some 350 residents to evacuate. Damage assessments report 57 residences and 11 outbuildings burned, along with 3 structures and […]